Door lock



E. M. MILLER July 12, 1955 DOOR LOCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed March ll, 1948 INVENTOR [DH/ARC f7. MILLER E. M. MILLER July 12, 1955 DOOR LOCK 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed March 11, 1948 //VVENTOR EaWARD f7. M/LLER W T1 [1i i Y E. M. MILLER July 12, 1955 DOOR LOCK 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed March 11, 1948 INVENTOR EDWARD /1. MLLER ATT RNEY:

United States Patent DOOR LOCK Edward M. Milier, Kent, Ohio, assignor to The C. L. Gfouiler hiachine Company, Kent, Ohio, a corporation 0 0 in Original application March 11, 1948, Serial No. 14,341,

new Patent No. 2,645,925, dated July 21, 1953. Divided and this appiica'tion December 2, 1952, Serial No. 323,679

1 Claim. (Cl. 292-167) This invention relates to locks, and more particularly to locks especially adapted for use on the outer doors of buildings, residences, or the like.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 14,341, filed March 11, 1948, now Patent No. 2,645,925, granted July 21, 1953.

An object of the invention is to provide novel and improved locking means effective to operate the usual spring-projected lock bolt, in which the lock bolt is withdrawable from its keeper by the outside knob only after operation of a combination, but in which the lock bolt can be withdrawn by a simple turning movement of the inside knob, independently of the combination mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lock of the character indicated in the last preceding paragraph, wherein the lock bolt may be held in retracted position as long as desired by a suitable turn of the inside knob in one direction, but wherein a turn of the inside knob in the other direction merely holds the bolt retracted until the hand is removed from the knob.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lock of the character indicated in the last two preceding paragraphs, which is of simple yet sturdy character, and which can be quickly and economically fabricated and assembled, in large part from sheet and rod stock.

A further object of the invention, in a lock of the character above indicated, is to provide combination mechanism of the circuitous cam and follower type, novel dogging means normally preventing bolt retraction by the outside knob but responsive to proper operation of the combination, and novel bolt retracting linkage actuatable either after suitable movement of the dogging means or after suitable turning movement of the inside knob.

A further object of the invention, in a lock of the character above indicated, is to provide a locking bolt normally impelled to locking engagement with a keeper, a bolt-retracting lever swingable on a pivot, a boltretracting link pivotally hung on said lever and having a lost motion connection to said bolt, means for moving said lever responsive to operation of an outside knob, combination means which, when suitably operated, permits operative engagement between said outside knob and said lever, and additional means for moving said lever responsive to operation of an inside knob.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an outside knob operatively engageable with a lock bolt only upon axial movement of the knob and means preventing such axial knob movement except upon proper operation of a combination lock.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from a study of the following description of one embodiment of the invention in conjunction with the illustration thereof in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a fragmentary portion of a door, as seen from the hinged edge thereof;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view taken from the left of Fig. 1, and showing the inside door knob;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, enlarged approximately three times, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

t Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of 1 lg.

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views similar to Fig. 4 but showing different working positions of certain operating elements;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are sectional views similar to Fig. 7, but showing different working positions of certain operating elements;

Fig. 11 is a side elevational view taken from the position of the line 11-11 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 12 is a perspective View of a latch bolt lever and cooperating bolt-retracting link;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a latch bolt dogging lever; and

Figs. l4, l5 and 16 are sectional views taken respectively on the lines 14-14, 15-15 and 16-16 of Fig. 3.

Speaking first generally, the lock means now to be described, and shown in the accompanying drawings, is mounted in a door 20 in conventional fashion. The door is provided with a cylindrical opening Zita (Fig. 3) extending inwardly from the door edge, and a cylindrical transverse aperture extends through the door between its inner and outer faces to communicate with the first named opening. A latch bolt 21 is shown in Fig. 3, and in fragmentary fashion in Figs. 7 to 10 inclusive. It extends through opening 204:, through a suitable aperture in a face plate 22, and, when the door is locked, it prefers into a keeper aperture in the door jamb 23.

Since the inventive concept here to be disclosed is independent of the latch bolt construction, further description of the bolt is not considered necessary, although i prefer a bolt of the novel character disclosed and claimed in my Patent No. 2,549,983 of April 24, 195 i. it is sufficient here to note that the inner end of the latch bolt is provided with an aperture 24 adapted to receive a pin 25 carried by a latch bolt retracting link 25. Link 26 is pivotally secured at 260 to a bolt-operating lever 27 which, as will appear, is operatable from the inner door knob 28, or outer door knob 29 (Fig. 3). O erations by the inner or outer knob are independent of each other. The latch bolt is provided with spring means 210 for normally maintaining it in projected position, in engagement with its keeper.

The combination mechanism is housed in a cup 33 which has a friction fit in the transverse aperture in the door. The cup 33 is provided with a plurality of circuniferentially spaced out turned tabs 34 adapted to cooper te with complementary inturned tabs 35 on the cap 36 in a bayonet joint connection. The combination mechanism is enclosed between the cup bottom 37, and a cup cover plate 38 which carries said mechanism.

Extending inwardly from the cap bottom towards inner door knob 28 are a pair of diametrically opposed posts 39, 3% (Fig. 11) each of which is axially drilled and tapped to receive the shanks of a pair of lock-retaining screws 49. The inner opening to the lock retaining aperture is closed by a plate 43 through which screws 40 pass. Plate 43 likewise has spaced breech lock talfs 4 somewhat offset from the plane of the major portion of the plate to permit the insertion between tabs id and the door face of complementary inturned tabs 45 on an inner cap 46. Cap 46 may be applied or removed in familiar breech lock or bayonet joint fashion by matching the tabs on one member with the spaces between tabs on the other member, and then turning cap 46 sufficiently to effect the engagement.

Before cap 46 is assembled on plate 43, the apertures in the plate are aligned with the threaded bores in posts The screws 40 are then inserted and drawn up until the door is tightly gripped between plate 43 and the tabs 35 on cap 36. Cap 46 may then be applied, and the assembly operation is complete.

The operation of the lock by means of the inner knob 28 will first be described. The bolt operating lever 27 is channel-shaped in cross section, as best seen in Fig. 12, having flanges 27a and 27b which, near. one end thereof, are provided with aligned apertures 47 permitting the lever to be rotatably carried on post 39a. The latch -bolt retracting link 26 is pivotally'secured at 26:! to flange 27b near the free end of lever 27. The flange 27a has a detent recess 48 approached by means of a cam track 48a on'the edge of the flange (Fig. 12). A cup 49, substantially equal in diameter to previously described cup 33, serves as a cover for lever '27, and carries the lever manipulating member 50. Said member comprises a spindle 53 having affixed thereto .a pair of spaced collars 54, 55 closely fitted, one each side of the bottom wall of cup 49, so that spindle 53 and its collars are rotatable on the said bottom wall. The inner collar 55 is provided with a finger'projection 56. When the spindle and collars are rotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 9,

the finger 56 rides down cam track 48a and seats in detent recess 48, thereby swinging lever 27 so as to retract link 26 and bolt 21. While finger 56 is in recess 48 the spindle position is stable, being on the longitudinal center line of the bolt movement, and the bolt remains retracted since the spring 21a which urges the bolt to projected position cannot produce rotation of collar 55 by a straight pull.

However, if the spindle 53 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 10, finger 56 abuts the shank surface portion 57 of lever leg 27a, but the finger can never reach detent 43 because, before it does so, the heel 58 of lever 27 abuts the inner wall of cup 49. Therefore in the position shown in Fig. 10, the outward bias by spring 211: exerted on lever 27 through bolt 21, pin 25, and link 26 finds finger 56 off the center line of the applied force, and the pressure of lever edge 27 against finger 56 rotates the collar 55 when bolt-retracting torque is no longer applied to spindle .53 thereby permitting bolt .21 to move outwardly.

The spindle 53 is actuated by rotation of inner knob 28, Fig. 3, since in the embodimentshown the spindle 53 has a square end portion 53a, and the knob is provided with an inward tubular extension 59, squared at its inner end to telescope over the spindle.

From what has been so far described, it will be apparent that the linkage comprising lever 27, link 26 and bolt 21 can be temporarily retained in retracted position by rota- .tion of inner knob 28 in one direction until finger 56 seats in detent recess 48 as shown in Fig. 9, and that this position is maintained until knob 28 is turned backwards to normal, door-locked position. Rotation of knob *28 in' the other direction to a positively stopped position withfinger 56 as shown in Fig. 10, only holds bolt 21 retracted as long as knob 28 is held, but when the knob is released the bolt springs outwardly, the parts being then as shown in Fig. 7.

The means whereby lever 27 is actuated from the outer knob 29 of the door will now be described.

The transverse wall 37 which forms the bottom of cup 33 is centrally perforated to receive a rotatable grommet 62 having fixed thereto, on the side next to the lever 27,

a rotatable plate 63 carrying a pin 64. Pin 64 engages the flange 27b of lever 27 in the same manner that finger 56 engaged the flange 270, except that there is no detent recess in flange 27b, and therefore rotation of plate 63 actuates lever 27 to withdraw bolt 21, but the bolt is held in retracted position only as long as outer knob 29 is held in lever-retracting position. I

The grommet 62 has a square aperture 65 therethrough, adapted to receive a square spindle 66 fixed in the outer. knob 29. Normally a dog lever 67 of plate forrn prevents operative engagement between spindle 66 rotated by, spindle 66. Coverplate 38 carries a pair of pins 70, 70a, pin 70 supporting a leaf spring 73 having a nose portion 74 engageable with detent recesses 75 in the cam plate periphery. Obviously, rotation of the cam plate encounters resistance to motion, and there is a detectable click each time nose 74 enters a recess 75.

Cam plate 68 has integral therewith a plurality of cams 76 extending at diverse angles to each other, and defining therebetween a tortuous path whereby a cam following pin, normally at the center, can be urged outwardly toward the periphery by proper rotation of the cam platel Certain combination elements herein described are conventional, but a description of the whole mechanism will clarify the operation.

. Dog 67 is of crescent-like shape and has an aperture 67a in one tip thereof whereby it is rotatably mounted on post 79, as best seen in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. It is normally biased to the position shown in Fig. 4 by a spring 77 fixed to the dog and to post 70a. The dog has a boss 78 provided with an aperture 79 which can be aligned with grommet aperture 65 and spindle 66 when the dog is forced, against spring bias, from the position shown in Fig. 4 to that in Fig. 6. In the latter position'spindle 66 can be inserted through aperture 79 in the dog, and into its socket in the aperture 65 of the grommet, whereupon rotation of knob 29 can retract the bolt as previously described.

Swinging of the dog lever 67 is accomplished by a swingable arm 80, rotatably mounted on pin 70, The free end of the arm engages a tab 83 struck up from dog 67. counterclockwise movement of arm (Figs. 4 to 6) swings dog 67 counterclockwise. Arm 80 has a cam-following pin 84 adapted to be engaged by one or other of earns 76 as the cam plate is rotated, and, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, three or four alternations in direction or rotation, each one effected by a predetermined number of click stops, forces the pin outwardly from a central position until it finally climbs the hill on cam 76a (Fig. 16) at which time arm 80 has forced dog 67 to the position shown in Fig. 5. At this time, inward pressure on knob ture 65 in grommet 62. Rotation of the knob then rotates the grommet, causing the pin 64'carried thereby to rotate lever 27 andf through link 26, to withdraw bolt 2 The final position of pin 64 when the lock bolt is fully withdrawn, is shown inFig. 8.

Rotation of the grommet 62 produces a further effect. The rotatable grommet plate 63 has a tab 86 extending backwardly through bottom plate 37 into cup 33. When the grommet is being rotated, this tab contacts the outer edge of arm 80 and as the tab moves from the broken line position to the full line position of Fig. 6, the arm 80 is thrown back to starting position with the camfollowing pin 84 near the center of thecam plate.

The only-thing now holding the dog lever aperture 79 in bolt-operating alignment is the fact that spindle 66 still extends through it and into the grommet. As soon as the grommet has been turned to retract the bolt 21, and the door has been opened to prevent reengagement of the bolt with the keeper aperture in the door jamb, the hand may be removed from the knob 29. The knob .is freely slidable in shell 36 (Fig. 3) and spring 85 snaps the knob with spindle 66 outwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3. As soon as the spindle tip passes out of the aperture 79 in dog 67, the dog is pulled by its spring 77,.back to the position shown in 5 Fig. 4, to again retract the bolt by means of knob 2 the combination must again be operated.

Cup 33 is prevented from rotation with respect to its cwer plate 38 by the fact that pins 79 and 11? pass tnrongh the bottom wall 37 of the cup. A leaf sprmg the inner face of wall 37 impinges on arm Sb nd maintains the cam-following pin 34 in tight working gugement with the cam plate 68. Another leaf spring rig. 13) is fixed on dog 67 and abuts the inner face of the wall 37 to maintain the feet 89 of the in sliding engagement with the inner face of Wall 38.

The rotational starting point of the combination lock may be controlled in a number of conventional ways, the one here used being best shown in Figs. 3 and 14. The hub 69 of cam plate 68 extends through cover plate 33, and has a smooth cylindrical portion 6% and a splined portion 6%. A fiat washer 93 is freely rotatable on the cylindrical portion and has two tabs 3a and 93b. The rotation of washer 93 is stopped by abutmerit of tab 93a with a stop 94 struck up from plate 3% A splined washer 95 of cup like form is interlockable with the splined portion 6%, so that it may be lined in any one of a number of preselected positions on the hub, depending on the number of complementary sp ines on Washer and hub. Washer 95 has an outturned tab 95.1 which clears stop 94 but which abuts the upturned tab 3b on washer 93. it will be apparent that rotation of knob 29, so as to rotate hub 69, for example counterclockwise in Fig. 14, will produce abutment of tab 95:: with tab 93b, and thereafter Washer will be carried counterclockwise until tab 3a abuts stop 94.

In the embodiment shown there are ten possible angularly varying splined interlocks between washer 95 and hub 69, and it will be apparent that the starting point of the combination operation may be varied as desired by lifting washer 95 from splined engagement and replacing it in a different angular position.

From a consideration of the description and drawings it will be evident that the lock structure hereinabovc disclosed lends itself readily to simple installation, particularly in wooden doors. The complete mechanism, with the exception of the bolt and knobs, is contained within a cylindrical space which can be cut transversely through the door by a carpenters rotary cutting tool. The bolt 21, not shown in detail, may be reciprocated in another cylindrical aperture extending inwardly from the door edge to communicate with the transverse aperture.

In assembling the lock in the door aperture, the cornbination mechanism comprising the cam plate 63 and dog lever 67 are disposed in cup 33, and cover plate 38 is applied thereto With its bayonet joint tabs in alignent with those of the cup. The combination-setting Washers are assembled on hub 69, and knob 29 with its spindle 66 and spring 85 are disposed in shell 36 which is then clamped on the bayonet joints on the cup and cover plate. Lever 27 is then pivotally mounted on post 3% The unit thus built up is inserted from the outer side of the door until the inner face of bayonet lugs 35 abut the outer face of the door around the transverse opening. The bolt 21 is inserted inwardly from the door edge through a suitable housing in aperture Zila and its inner-end is hooked over pin 25 on link 26 carried by lever 27. Cup 49 is then inserted from the inside face or" the door until it rests on the transverse wall consisting of the bottom 37 of cup 33. inner cover plate 43 is then placed over the inner end of the transverse aperture, with its edges abutting the aperture edge, and its bayonet joint lugs spaced from the door face. Screws 49 are inserted and drawn up. Finally bayonet lugs 44 and 45 are engaged, and the assembly is complete.

What I claim is:

A door lock or" the character described comprising a housing, a latch bolt reciprocatably mounted in said housing and spring biased for normal projection in a straight line path to door-locking position, a door knob, a rotatable spindle carried by said door knob, said spindle having its axis at right angles to and alined with said path, a lever having a pivotal mounting on said housing to one side of said path, said lever projecting beyond the line of said path, a link connection between said bolt and the free end of said lever, said link having a pivotal connection with said bolt, said lever haviug a detent alined with said spindle and said pivotal connection when said bolt is fully retracted, said lever having a bolt retracting cam surface on one side of said detent and shank surface on the opposite side of said detent, said surfaces inclined away from said detent and outwardly from said path While extending generally to Ward said bolt, a projection rotatable with said spindle and eccentric of its axis, said cam surface directing said projection into said detent when said knob is rotated in one direction, and stop means limiting the movement at said lever to a position where said shank surface stops said projection short of said detent when said knob is rotated in the opposite direction.

UNITED STATES PATENTS References Cited in the file of this patent 689,334 Taylor Dec. 17, 1901 720,986 Voight Feb. 17, 1903 77l,542 Fletcher Oct. 4, 1904 2,645,925 Miller July Ill, 1953 

